Nonstop flight route between Ailuk, Marshall Islands and Buka Island, Papua New Guinea:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ailuk Airport (AIM), Ailuk, Marshall Islands and Buka Island Airport (BUA), Buka Island, Papua New Guinea would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,509 miles (or 2,429 kilometers).

A Great Circle is the shortest distance between 2 points on a sphere. Because most world maps are flat (but the Earth is round), the route of the shortest distance between 2 points on the Earth will often appear curved when viewed on a flat map, especially for long distances. If you were to simply draw a straight line on a flat map and measure a very long distance, it would likely be much further than if you were to lay a string between those two points on a globe. Because of the relatively short distance between Ailuk Airport and Buka Island Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Ailuk Airport (AIM):

• The furthest airport from Ailuk Airport (AIM) is RAF Ascension (ASI), which is nearly antipodal to Ailuk Airport (meaning Ailuk Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from RAF Ascension), and is located 12,100 miles (19,473 kilometers) away in Georgetown, Ascension Island, Saint Helena.
• The closest airport to Ailuk Airport (AIM) is Likiep Airport (LIK), which is located 53 miles (86 kilometers) WSW of AIM.

Facts about Buka Island Airport (BUA):

• Buka Island Airport (BUA) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Buka Island Airport's relatively low elevation of 11 feet, planes can take off or land at Buka Island Airport at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.
• Today the airport is the primary air portal into Bougainville, and even 60 years after the war, wreckage from the military use of the airfield by the Japanese and Americans is easily found in the area.
• The closest airport to Buka Island Airport (BUA) is Nissan Island Airport (IIS), which is located 71 miles (114 kilometers) NNW of BUA.
• In 2004, the airport experienced some closures due to land disputes.
• On 13 May 1943 Allied reconnaissance observed 36 fighters and 6 bombers at the airstrip.
• The origins of the airfield begin in 1941 when Australian troops built gun pits around a primitive airstrip in December 1941.
• The furthest airport from Buka Island Airport (BUA) is São Filipe Airport (SFL), which is located 11,781 miles (18,959 kilometers) away in Fogo, Cape Verde.